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Income inequality part 3

Studies tend to support the idea that social ills are made worse by greater income inequality and made less by lower income inequality. Why this is true remains speculative. I suggest an experiment to be conducted over a five-year period and to be financed by the Federal government. The state of Utah might be the ideal place for the experiment. Utah has a drug problem among others, and it is relatively poor, rural, and almost entirely white.

Some people, perhaps a majority in the US, divide the poor into two categories, the worthy poor and the unworthy poor. The worthy poor try to help themselves and are worthy of help. The unworthy poor are shiftless and do not deserve our help. The worthy poor are mostly white and the unworthy poor are mostly people of color, at least according to welfare critics. That is why I selected Utah for the test, because it is a mostly white, red state.

My proposal is that every adult resident of Utah receive a government guaranteed minimum income sufficient to maintain a decent standard of living whether that person is employed or not. Students could attend school and need not work, new parents could stay home to care for their newborns, the disabled would have a sufficient income as would the formerly homeless. Those so inclined could pursue an interest in the arts and others could donate their time to worthy causes. Surveys would be conducted during the trial to monitor progress, if any, in reducing social ills. If the trial is successful, it would be implemented in all fifty states as rapidly as possible.